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Academia

Around the world, human trafficking continues because of ignorance. Individuals made vulnerable by need, conflict or social practices may accept a fraudulent offer of employment because they do not know about the potential harm. Once entrapped in such a situation, they have little knowledge of how to seek help.

In countries of destination, trafficking is allowed to continue unimpeded because people do not know how to recognize a harmful situation. Where authorities and other stakeholders are uninformed, a victim may be discriminated against, charged as a criminal or deported, while their exploiters remain active, free of investigation or censure.

Education and knowledge are powerful tools to end trafficking and students and teachers are important stakeholders in the fight against this crime.

The absence of data cripples efforts to combat trafficking. While the clandestine nature of the crime makes data collection difficult, it is not impossible. Governments need to know the extent of the crime, its geographical spread and the many forms it takes. They need to understand how criminal networks function and what truly makes individuals vulnerable to being trafficked. Without such data, it is difficult to assess the impact of the crime, to develop solutions that will meet real needs and to evaluate the effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts.

Academia has the unique opportunity to produce knowledge-based evidence that can help the efforts against human trafficking.

This book presents the first-ever comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the international law of human trafficking. Anne T. Gallagher calls on her experience working within the United Nations to chart the development of new international laws on this issue. This timely and groundbreaking work presents a resource for policymakers, advocates, practitioners, and scholars working in this controversial field.